ARTISTS
100 Tonson Gallery
Jul 27 - Aug 15, 2019
Takanobu Kobayashi, a contemporary artist who produces works featuring specific themes and publishes books and other publications, conducted the first demonstration of his paintings in public at 100 Tonson Gallery in Bangkok from 27th July to 15th August 2019.
Kobayashi once stayed in Bangkok in 1996 as an overseas trainee artist at the Agency for Cultural Affairs, and there was a time when he moved his studio to Bangkok from that connection. Afterwards, he also had a studio in Tokyo, and since then has traveled between Tokyo and Bangkok for the past 12 years. This public demonstration and solo exhibition were hosted by 100 Tonson Gallery which has enjoyed a good relationship with him in Bangkok since he started living there.
Workshops were held by the artist throughout the period, and participants of various nationalities, from Thai people to Westerners, gathered. Seeing a simple painting with three-dimensional objects depicted in a concrete landscape, the participants asked questions. The Western participants in particular interpreted the works by linking them to Zen, and the green reminded them of Japanese gardens, so they seemed to have spent an interesting time judging by the glimpse of their image of Japan.
In the space of the open gallery, unlike his own studio, there seemed to have been some elements of interruption of concentration, and it seemed to like there were some difficulties. It seems that painting progress, judging by his brush stroke, was better in the morning when there were no visitors, but there were times that he could not experience when working at his own studio, such as when a Thai audience asked questions, regarding even an unfinished part, as though they thought it was complete.
The latest work features objects that had not previously been depicted. The previous work depicted a forest full of trees, creating a series with a warm but introspective image. However, this time, not only trees but also the sky was depicted in the background, making the contrast between nature and man-made objects clear and more objective. The interpretation of the work varied, but he dared not explain it coming from himself as an artist, he hoped the audience could feel it freely.
In this demonstration in public, he brought the works from Japan, and this took a lot of logistical work and it seemed to be hard to prepare for. However, the exhibition with this lively demonstration left a special impression on the audience as well, and their interest of the artist and his work became much stronger than before they experienced this event, so we are waiting for the next challenge.
Takanobu KOBAYASHI
1986- Graduated from the Department of Oil Painting, Faculty of Fine Arts, Aichi University of the Arts.
1996- Awarded VOCA '96 Encouragement Prize.
1996- Stayed in Bangkok, Thailand for one year as an overseas artist trainee with the grant from the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan.
1998- Stayed in Lot-et-Garonne, France for three months under Art Scope’98, Gas-cogne Japanese Art Scholarship.
Main solo exhibition:
1997- Silpakorn University Art Gallery, Bangkok
1998- 'Seventy Five Days' Muse des Beaux-Arts d'Agen, Lot-et-Garonne France
2000- 'Recent Works 23' The National Museum of Art, Osaka
2003- 'MOT Annual 2003 “days” ' Mueum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo
2004- 'Takanobu Kobayashi -Endless summer' Meguro Museum of Art, Tokyo
2006- 'Enjoyable House' Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art
2009- 'Close your eyes -present of seeing' The Museum of Modern Art, IBARAKI
2010- 'Garden of Painting- Japanese Art of the 00s' The National Museum of Art, Osaka
2014- 'Kobayashi Takanobu- Dream, dreaming us' Yokosuka Museum of Art, Kanagawa
2015- 'Poem by Painter- Paint by Poet' The Hiratsuka Museum of Art and toured 4 museums(-'16)
2016- 'Ecce Homo The Human Image in contemporary Art' The National Museum of Art (Osaka)
2019- 'EAT' 100 Tonson Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand
Collection:
The Japan Foundation
Silpakorn University
Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art
The National Museum of Art, Osaka
Tochigi Prefectural Museum of fine arts
Gunma Museum of Art, Tatebayashi
DaimlerChrysler Foundation in Japan
Kushiro Art Museum, Hokkaido
Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito, Ibaraki
Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo
Ohara Museum of Art, Okayama
Takamatsu Art Museum
Vangi Sculpture Garden Museum, Shizuoka
Tokyo Station Gallery
Book:
'Takanobu Kobayashi Works Collection- Toward a place with light' (Nihon Keizai Shinbun)
'Takanobu Kobayashi- Dream, dreaming us' (Seigensha Art Publishing)
'Usual Life, Ordinary Pictures- Kobayashi Takanobu's Production Notebook' (Kyuryudo Art-publishing Co.,LTD)
